Internet Protocol (IP) communications such as multicast transmission, allow a host to send data (e.g., packets) to a subset of various nodes as a group transmission. Multicast transmission is particularly useful for applications that steam audio and video (e.g., IP television or “IPTV”) since multicast transmission conserves bandwidth by minimizing duplication of data. Multicast transmission can be employed using various network routing protocols such as, for example, multi-protocol label switching (MPLS). With respect to MPLS networks, avoidance of packet loss (due to various failures in a network) is imperative to prevent degradation of real-time services (e.g., streaming video, etc.).